Street-railway switch



I. A. CHANDLER. Street-Railway Switch.

Patented Feb.'24, 1880.

r r. m 1% 6 =5 1 m m J. cw k2 Q n m M N, PETER5. PHOTWUTHOGRAPNER, WASHINGT a To all whom it may concern: a

I UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE IsAAo CHANDLER, or CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS;

SPECIFICATION formingp art of *Letters Patent No. 224,874, dated February 24, 1880.

V i i Application filed November 17, 1879. v

Be it knownthat I, ISAAC A. CHANDLER,

of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented. agnew and: useful Improvement in Street Railway Switches; and L do hereby declare the same, totbe described in thefollowingspecification1 and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which- 10 section, Fig. 3 atransverse section,,and Fig.1 4 a bottornwview,,ofxa switch and parts ofa track and turn-out and ,their sustaining pitg providedwith my invention the. nature of} which is duly set forth in theiclaim or claims,

hereinafter made. 1

In the said drawings, A is the switch or movable. tongue, and .B and .O the adjacent parts of the main track and the turn-out ap plicable thereto, the said parts Band 0 being extended transversely across and ,supported by the pit D, which, as represented, is a rectantrack or part B. These movable platforms are supported by a rocker-frame, H, composed of two T-shaped side bars, a a, and two T- shaped end bars, b b. It also has a central or medial cross-bar, 0, all being formed and arranged as represented. j

The rocker-frame, at'the middles of its opposite sides is, provided with bearings d d, to rest on brackets e e, extending from the sides of the pit, such supports being like the usual bearings of a steelyard or weighing beam. Furthermore, the said rocker-frame is provided with meansdof moving it sidewise either way, to correctly adjust it in the pit, inorder to prevent either of the platforms resting on the framefrom binding against the pit, such means being screws f f, that are screwed through the walls or sides of the pit and against the frame may be in movement,-to preserve the same distances frmnthemartsnext to it, in order that the spaces between the platform and such parts may not become clogged by dirt, or foreign matters, so asto stop or impede the platform from moving withthe rocker-frame. x

. The switch-tongue A, pivoted near itslarger end,-has;jointed to ita connection-rod, I, which .is also jointedgtoan arm, K, extending up from of therocker-fframe H, such curves being shown ,atf, 9,10, 7:, k, l, and min :Fig. 2, and being to i j 5 cause each of the movableplatforms, whileit Figure l, s atop view, Fig.2 a longitudinal airock-shafaL. TothearinK, and abovethe said shaft, arod,M, is pivoted, such rod M,at its inner end, being provided .withia screw, 8, which, goesthrough a projectiomn, extending down from themedial cross-bar of the rockerframe. There are screwed on the screw of the rod M, and on opposite sides of the projection n, two nuts, 019, with each of which a set-nut may be used, it being screwed on the screw 8.

On either platform being stepped upon by a horse it will descend and tilt the rockerframe, and the other platform will correspondingly be moved upward, the switch-tongue being moved in the meantime laterally on its support-plate.

In approaching the turn-out, should the driver of the car be desirous of passing from the main track to and upon the turn-out, he should turn his horses aside, so as to cause one of them to step upon and travel over the outer movable platform, in which case the other horse will step on and move over the stationary platform. The horse in stepping upon the outer movable platform will cause it to be depressed, and, as a consequence, the switch-tongue to be set correctly for the car to pass upon the turn-out.

The switch-tongue, being so set, will, while the horses may be traveling across the platforms that are between the parts B G, be moved into its other extreme position for a car to keep the main track.

Within the pit, and pivoted to a projection,

mechanism therein represented the movable 13, extending therefrom, as shown, is an angular friction brake or lever, U, having on its longer or horizontal arm a slideor adjustable weight, N. The shorter arm of the said lever rests against the inner face of an arched piece or bridge, 0, extending from one end of the rocker-frame. This friction brake or mechanism is to prevent, on a horse leaving one of the movable platforms, any rebounding of the rocker-frame, such as might cause the switchtongue to be improperly moved.

With my improvement I save the necessity of projecting the platforms beyond each other longitudinally of the track, as shown in the United States Patent No. 215,069, 'as I use with the movable platforms a stationary platform arranged directly between them, and also between the parts B O of the main and turnout tracks. This, however, is shown in the United States Patent No. 216,978; but in the platforms are not supported by arocker-frame, but each is pivoted, at or near its inner edge, to the pit, an arm being extended down from each of such platforms.

It will readily be seen that when the platforms are so pivoted a horse, on stepping upon such platform near its inner edge, would not be likely to depress the platform; but when the two platforms are supported by a rockerframe and have between them the stationary platform, and one movable platform is be tween the track parts B and G and the other outside of them, as shown, a horse, on step ping on either movable platform, at any part of it, cannot fail to depress it.

Thus, while by my improvement I avoid the, disadvantages resulting from extending one movable platform beyond the other in a direction lengthwise of them, and use with them the intervening stationary platform, I avoid the liability of either of the movable platforms not being depressed by a horse when stepping on it.

What I claim as my invention is as follows:

1. In combination with the stationary platform E, arranged between the track parts B C, and with the two movable platforms F G 7 arranged with such stationary platform track parts in manner as represented, th 1 rocker-frame H, arranged with the said platforms and in the pit substantially as described.

2. In combination with the stationary platform E, arranged between the track parts B G, and .with the two movable platforms F G, arranged with such stationary platform and track parts in manner as represented, the rocker-frame H, its medial cross-bar c, and the mechanism for connecting it with the switch-tongue, such mechanism consisting of the rods I M and rocker-arm K, arranged and 1 adapted as explained.

3. The. friction apparatus or Weight-ed be: lever pivoted to the pit-frame, and arran ed to operate substantially as described, with the rocker-frame provided with the movable platforms, as set forth.

4:- The opposite longitudinal edges of the movable platformsand the next adjacent edges of the stationary parts next thereto, curved as described, when such platforms are supported by a rocker-frame, to operate as described.

' ISAAC A. CHANDLER.

Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, S. N. PIPER. 

